Thoughts About Photowalks

Photowalks. I sure do have fun. Am adding to my albums steadily and surely, BUT (and that's a big but) have to actually go out to capture images in the first place. It's all about follow-through for me. I get set up to do this and that and never finish. Painted the top of my upper tier of cabinets after a good scrub. This was a major chore. And now it is finished. Painted my medicine cabinet and wow, what a difference. The first thing I see in the morning is a bathroom that is nice, neat, and tidy. Am going to get down on the ground to paint the kick board at the base of the kitchen cabinets next. And have to trim back the grass out in my side yard. Want to bring a big planter indoors to start trees and shrubs for next Spring's garden. Lots of chores.
Photowalks! Would like to complete things around the house too. It is 8:00 A.M. (0800 hrs.) and will add to this blog as the day progresses.22 November 2016. Registered to start the process to earn a State Notary Public license. Forty-five dollars. Will study on that over the next few days. Haven't started trimming the grass the way I would like, but have exercised. Think that tweaked my metabolism. Didn't do much, yet am quite crippled and have to build up. Started painting another section of the kitchen. Will have before and after images to post when it is completed.

UPDATE: 3 December 2016.
Have been very busy and kind of neglectful of my blogging, yet have been following through on my projects. It is expensive to become a Notary, the process is complex, and there is a test with exam. Have set up the place for my indoor planter and have decided what to plant indoors for next Spring.

Notary Project

UPDATED:7 December 2016.First of all, locating the correct site is most important.The address for Nevada's Secretary of State is at this link. Once there, locate the tab up top labeled "Forms." And follow the instructions. You will need to enter required information, create names, and create a password so be prepared to take your time to approach this project with a professional attitude. Eventually, one ends up paying an exam fee to begin the application process. Study the notary training guide well before the exam at the training/exam website. Can watch it many times if need be. Pass the exam. The next step is the application. Fill out and print the application which then needs to be filed with the Clark County Clerk. With the accompanying surety bond and OATH. Finally, mail the application, proof of oath and surety to the Nevada Secretary of State. Proof of your training and exam is inside the computer system. A potential notary has ninety days after the exam to complete the process.

Then, the NVSOS will examine your legal bona fides. Residency, legal record, and all other orifices to insure one is qualified to sign their name. It is all about the rules. In order for one's signature to be worth something, one's signature literally "has to be worth something." Big brother is going to take a good long look. Basically.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

An image of my kitchen cabinet bank. They are old and have been repainted many times. The drawers need repair, and some of the doors have been broken. The hinges are gooped up with old paint. The insides need a lot of work. The sink is not even attached to the counter top. Have a long way to go.

Before

The dark brown strip in the image below shows where the old kick board has been removed when my kitchen floor tiles wee replaced. The people removed the kick board and did not attach new pieces leaving it bare. The cabinet was purchased pre-assembled. The old cabinet was removed, disposed of, and a new cabinet assembly placed on top of a pedestal which is evident if the image is viewed large.

After

When standing in the kitchen area, the blemishes in the finished texture are not noticeable. The following images, I am literally laying on the kitchen floor.

After

A better view.This actually looks kind of nice. Also, I painted the top of the top tier of the cabinets.

Photowalk: 31 October 2016 - Additional

Learned quite by accident how Mexican Bird of Paradise seeds are dispersed. Probably the way many seeds are dispersed. There are two halves to each pod and during the Fall the matured seed pods dry out. Apparently at different rates of age. Then, just as ice cracks at its breaking point, so too, the seed pods split. The force of the seed pods splitting caused a violent break in between the two halves of the pod. This force ejects the seeds inside the pod away from the mother plant where they land, and if the conditions are right, new plants germinate. In addition to learning how seeds are dispersed, during my online research learned that there are similar looking plants that are often named "Mexican Bird of Paradise" and they are not.

Caesalpinia mexicana

Notice in particular the shapes and structure of the above foliage.

Caesalpinia mexicana

Above, notice along with the shape of the leaves, the greenish stamens. The above two images are Caesalpinia mexicana. This according to data "Compiled by the Master Gardeners of the University of Arizona, Pima County Cooperative Extension".
Below is an example of "Yellow" Bird of Paradise. This according to data compiled by the Master Gardeners at the University of Arizona in Pima County.

Caesalpinia gilliesii

And a third species of the Caesalpinia flowering pea plant that I have often mistaken or interchanged is Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Which is actually known as the "Red" Bird of Paradise, below

Caesalpina pulcherrima

Now back to seed dispersal which I was writing about while discovering the discrepancies in many of the articles I was sourching. So I went to the U of A directly. The seeds explode as illustrated below.

after explosive exhibition

The reason I know of the explosive properties exhibited by the seed pods, is because I had these sitting on my stove range top inside my apartment to capture images. Was adjusting my camera for a different photo, and was standing about twenty-feet away, heard a quick snap (not too loud), and heard one half of the smaller seed pod hit the tiled floor in my kitchen. Here is an image,below, of what my original intention illustrates.

Next Spring's Shrubs

The seed pods were sitting there while I was about twenty-feet away when the Caesalpinia seed pod opened to disperse the seeds. Am missing the other seeds that were inside the smaller seed pod (there was still one seed stuck to the pod hull)... probably under the kitchen table or behind the stove. Can see the smaller seed pod nestled in the embrace of the larger seed pod. Those are all seeds I will germinate indoors in the coming weeks to transplant out of doors. Texas Mountain Laurel, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Red Bird of Paradise, and Tecoma Stans "Mayan Gold."
Have decided to contact the folks at the U of A to share my discovery about the pods.There is a telephone number to call on the FAQ page.

Photowalk: 13 November 2016

Went out around 1630 hrs. in order to stock up on tobacco for the month, and walked into the Rock-N-Roll Marathon, on my way to purchase some printer ink. Went to the ATM at a local all-purpose pharmacy and the machine was "temporarily" out of service as opposed to permanently I am guessing. Will need to build my strength and endurance. Have been sitting around too much. Took me until today, 15 November 2016 to recoup from this walk. Beginning just down the street from my apartment, below, rode the bus to the Indian Smoke Shop and then walked to Downtown Fremont Street.

Just down the street in front of a new Internet café, is a nice patch of Fringed Amaranthus. Every year, out of season,I recall how deep the maroon cymes are among this particular patch. As the images below demonstrate.

Amaranthus fimbriatus

Am so very thankful that "this year" the timing worked out to capture an image of this deep, rich red inflorescence.Because it is a weed, they are all over the place. The flowers on the plants in my side yard are a plain green, as last year's image below shows.

Fringed Amaranthus Last Year

My focus became "bridges" as I continued to walk. There is a challenge on Viewbug to show our best image. So I took pictures of a couple of bridges while I was out.

This is an awesome bridge is someone were to ask me. And another.

Those are two awesome bridges!! High-grade engineering if I do say so myself.

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon

This image is at the intersection of Bridger at Las Vegas Blvd. at 2106 hrs.Behind the magenta lamp is a group of musicians encouraging the marathoners forward. have read on the Internet that there were over 7000 registered participants that ran the full marathon and the half marathon. Bear with me as I construct this post because there are many images from my own photowalk. Most of the marathon images are around 2100 hrs through 2200 hrs. roughly between say Bridger until Charleston. I had to go East up Charleston in order to ride a re-routed RTCSNV bus.

Workflow and Follow Through

Have been noticing, that it is fine and dandy to have workflow. Yet, the importance lays in following through with completion of tasks. I am having a lot of uncompleted tasks laying around. Am going to change this. It's been a couple of hours. Have gotten caught up to where I should be. Two more things to finish up and have followed through. Am kind of thinking some sleep may be the next order of the day.

Veteran's Day. Trump is our President along with a Republican controlled Congress:both houses. Quite rare. Have finished cleaning up my medicine cabinet. Should just replace the cabinet, yet I do not think the Landlord will spend the money. Therefore, I painted it. Fixing up this cabinet will give the bathroom a fresh appearance, and it will be more pleasant to start my day by having the area nice.Below is the series of photos showing what I mean.

Medicine Cabinet Before

I removed the sliders because the glass was gone. In this image, I have pulled away some of the old loose paint

Preparing To Paint

After attaching a plastic drop cloth to collect dust, preparation begins. Using a scraper and the sand block in the image below, have removed any loose paint and rust.

19 November 2016 - Update

Have been following through. Tonight have some supplies to pick up at the store and some more indoor chores.

Update: 21 November 2016

Have another project that I followed through with and am going to note because their are other projects I am going to add to this post. A while back, noticed that the top tier of my cabinets needed painting. Got up on the cabinet to scrub them good, also. The entire project took ages, yet I store canned goods up there and got tired of them sticking when I tried to bring down a can to use. Have a "before" image below.

27 November 2016

Today was Sabbath so I refrained from any major work. Tomorrow have to go out for some business and when I get home will apply a second coat of paint to the base of my cabinets in the kitchen. Have added one photo of seven categories to Chrysta Rae's Round 19 Scavenger Hunt. Rules prohibit me from saying much else. Have been editing and doing post-processing of many images. The idea of this post is to remind me to complete tasks and goals which I need to follow through with. I need to do a more thorough job. I can see that.

Hacking Health - Quick Hot Sandwiches

Leftovers put to good use

Chili, Guacamole, and Cheese

I purchase big bags of bread on sale

Hot Chicken Spread

These next quick hot sandwiches are egg, meat, and cheese omelette.

Hot Quick Omelette Sandwiches

The white bowl has three chicken eggs stirred/whisked together with about two tablespoons of milk with garlic powder (not garlic salt). The pan is getting hot and there is my spray oil so the eggs don't stick. Two patties of squashed together meat, diced tomato, and two green/spring onions I cooked. Below the ingredients have been placed on the egg wrapping before "the fold."

Melt the cheese

"The Fold"

Cut in half and bread the omelette.

Had some left-over homemade chili with beef one morning when I was in a hurry.

Chili Con Carne Sandwiches

My idea is to share sandwiches (meals) that are warm to hot and quick. When I am texting blogs, my mind is moving and one thing I don't like is losing my train of thought. So a quick healthy meal is good. This is a blog I will add ideas into as time passes.

Started going through archives to find examples of fine hot sandwiches. Meals that can be set up and eaten on the fly. No special recipes because the images are self-explanatory. Below is an old favorite. A ground turkey burger. Yaaaay.

A Hot Dog Sandwich

This is one of my favorites. Fried dogs.

I usually end-up using left-overs to make sandwiches. After a quick run up to the market for freah bread.

Loose Meat Sandwiches

Another favorite! Hot turkey with cheese. About $1.50 and homemade. No preservatives nor other folk's handling charges.

Hot Turkey With Cheese

Photowalk: 31 October 2016

To open my blog post is a great image of red yucca.

Red Yucca

Was standing around for my meeting and noticed this empty lot. Yet is full. These images are not much yet I think the subjects captured are quite beautiful. Just little things I see when having the blessing of getting out of the house. The world around me.

Urban Architecture

Had a meeting the morning of the 31st. It offered me the opportunity to grab some images while in a strange neighborhood. Thought I would share some of the best. For the first set, some landscaping stones that I thought were very beautiful. I love the textures.

Cracked Stone

Cracked Stone with Copper Ore?

Would have been nice if I had used my water misting bottle to enhance the color of these stones. Maybe bring out the golden color of the iron pyrite crystal facets?

Iron Pyrite In Stone

Just so you can see, I imaged many beautiful plants as well. Captured images of some magnificent plants on this walk, too. Must have caught the landscaping right before it was to be pruned. The gardens were lush, well-kept, and at peak beauty. Below is a red yucca stalk of inflorescence. Absolutely magnificent.

More Red Yucca

No photowalk is complete without an image or two of the oleander. Deadly poison this is... "Dog's Bane."

Dog's Bane and Ant

Going through these many images, I realized how many images were captured. Have more oleander to share. As well as others.The oleander shrubs had seed pods because the Landscaping crews had not been butchering the gardens to ease the workload.

Am working on these photos... have discovered DUST. Found a nice flare in this Ponderosa Pine image. Western Yellow Pine. Is a six-sided hex... a true flare.

Lots of these pine trees lined Flamingo on my walk. They are thirsting, yet we are self-compliant in most cases with water restrictions. The foliage could be much thicker on these trees. The Ponderosa Pines at the park directly across from my apartment are thick because plenty of water is used to water the lawn for the kids to run and play. Do kid's stuff and exercise... and this benefits the trees.

But I got up close and found an insect that is known to be hard on trees. Halyomorpha halys. This is obviously a contributor to the sparseness of the tree's foliage. The pine "cone" is actually quite edible.

Alongside the lush landscapes accompanying this photowalk were the un-butchered Chinese Fan Palm Trees. One on our many indoor gun ranges has been moved to a more profitable location, and the business front has not been maintained for lack of a new proprietor. I was astonished to see how the seed branches actually "are" if allowed to mature... (and on a side note) I honestly believe landscape companies butcher their locations to make professional upkeep more of a mass production assembly line process. Less work and care for the same basic rate. This is understandable. Making a profit at the expense of actually utilizing a skill at a master's level is the way Americans have been doing things quite a number of years. Doing things the way it is done inside other countries at the loss of our craftsmanship. Enough of that! The images of these palm trees that have had zero maintenance speak for themselves.

Beautiful Fan Palm Trees

It would be nice if there were enough time in each day for me to be able to harvest these edible fruits. Yummo!

Examples Of Palm Fruit

Time is becoming a factor because of positive choices. Am committed to constructing this blog today, and I have plants to take pictures of tomorrow and gardening tomorrow that will use that day, and so on. Great!! Am starting to wonder if palm fruit pie would taste good, yet there are more important tasks at hand. Yikes. Responsibility.

It seems to me that there is quite a bit of ripe fruit. There were two trees. Here are some Mexican Bird Of Paradise. They are shrubs with unique and beautiful flowers which are often included in Vegas landscapes.

There were quite a few different shrubs that were allowed to grow to monumental proportions. These Barbados Fence Plants/Bird of Paradise were one of them. The image below, my perspective is straight up. This shrub must have been twenty feet high.

Grabbed some of those seed pods while I was at it. There is a big area along the side yard fence that needs thorny shrubs to keep out kids. This area will be my project this spring and summer. Will plant some of the seeds I gathered while out on this photo walk. Have some seed from this type of plant also.

"Yellow" Mexican Bird Of Paradise

And a nice detail of the above image.